


A Heart for Any Fate

by hesterbyrde



Series: Friendship is Unnecessary [11]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Everyone Is Poly Because Avengers, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Morning Sex, Multi, Open Relationships, Oral Sex, Past Bucky Barnes/Natasha Romanov, Past Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Past Clint Barton/Phil Coulson, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Scars, Tattoos, Threesome - F/M/M, Vaginal Fingering, past bucky/steve/natasha, past phil/clint/natasha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 16:55:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18898789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hesterbyrde/pseuds/hesterbyrde
Summary: Clint's fingers hung in hers as he slipped towards the door. Just long enough for her to feel his strength. Long enough to feel his want. Long enough to make an ache flower in her chest from a stem she'd long thought withered. He looked back over his shoulder, and Natasha felt the loneliness and perfectly matched want in his eyes like a punch to the chest, chasing all the air out of her body. Something in her posture followed him a little, hoping his eyes and his hand would hang on just a minute longer. Just… just a minute...But he didn't hang on. He dropped his gaze and her hand together, and saw himself out without another word. A moving shape. A shadow in the hallway and then… just an empty doorway. When Natasha turned back in her chair, she found Steve's eyes following that same trajectory, his chin propped on his fist. And then like the click of a camera shutter, his blue eyes slid over to meet hers."Go after him." Steve rumbled softly, jerking his chin in the direction of the door.She looked up at him again and frowned in confusion. "What?""Go after him." he repeated a little more furtively this time. "You want to, and clearly he wouldn't mind. Needs it, probably."





	A Heart for Any Fate

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Monday, everyone!
> 
> I come bearing... a slightly different fic than previously in this series. I just couldn't resist doing a Steve/Nat/Clint fic. It's been bothering me ever since I first saw the Endgame trailer, so it just felt like it was the right thing to write. And looking back now, I'm actually kind of proud of it. It gets back to some of the lightness of tone that I wanted Steve and Natasha's relationship to have in my writing. I understand if this threesome is not to everyone's liking. It's definitely not plot relevant to the rest of the series so feel free to pass and wait on my Endgame fix it coming next month, but I do hope you'll have a look and enjoy it. 
> 
> Fic title is taken from "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
> 
> Thank you so much to my beta readers KaminaDuck and TenaciousAeolai. I could not do this without you.
> 
> Also if you're interested in Steggy adventures post time travel, you should totally go check out KaminaDuck's new series "Time after Time." https://archiveofourown.org/works/18843793
> 
> Thank you all so much for all your support. I hope you enjoy this next installment even if it is a bit different in terms of pairing. Please let me know what you think in the comments. I'm always curious to hear what resonates with my readers. 
> 
> And if you want to keep up with my general fandom craziness as well as see weekly updates about my writing, give me a follow over on Tumblr at @littlethingwithfeathers.
> 
> Thank you again and enjoy!

***

_Tell me not, in mournful numbers,_  
_Life is but an empty dream!_  
_For the soul is dead that slumbers,_  
_And things are not what they seem._

_Life is real! Life is earnest!_  
_And the grave is not its goal;_  
_Dust thou art, to dust returnest,_  
_Was not spoken of the soul._

***

It had been a busy day for everyone. They'd started off that morning with a test run to see if Scott's theory about time travel even worked and if they could in fact bring physical objects back with them through time. Then once that was successfully proven, it was on to brainstorming and planning for the "Time Heist" as everyone had grudgingly agreed to call it for lack of anything more creative or pithy. 

Now it had grown late, and the collective body of Avengers were all getting a bit punch-drunk (literally in Thor's case) from long hours of wrapping their collective heads around the concepts of both time travel and weird space magic. They'd solved the mystery of fetching the Power, Soul, and Reality Stones in relatively short order. Or at least they'd figured out their location at certain points in time. But as the afternoon shadows began to lazily stretch out towards evening, they discovered they were fast running out of Avengers to send on these little away trips. 

Long story short, there were still three Stones left but not enough Avengers to form actual teams to go get them. And both Scott and Steve had been adamant that no one went into the past alone. It was too risky. They couldn't afford to lose anyone, and they certainly couldn't afford to lose their shot at any one of the Stones. But multiple trips was deemed too treacherous as well. Who would they leave behind to defend the Stones they'd gathered while they went to fetch more? Leaving them without proper security invited disaster. No… it was all or nothing. Gather the Stones, bring them back, and use them. As quickly as possible.

So half the evening was diverted from Stone recon to personnel inventory. Ideas were bandied around for pulling in extra help for the mission, with Wakanda being the likeliest supplier. But the real issue with that plan was the fact that they only had enough of Pym's solution for the present team, and even then it was pretty tight. No margin for error. So then there were discussions about additional trips through time to steal more of the particles, and of course that meant a diversion into discussing the possibility of branching timelines by causing too many changes in the past. And of course, no one could agree on how that worked exactly.

Ultimately, the latter half of the day had been an exercise in circuitous frustration. Thankfully, they weren't on the clock yet per se. What was a few more days when they'd already spent years treading water while the solution, unbeknownst to them, rusted merrily away in a storage shed? They could afford, and more to the point _should_ afford, all the planning and discussion necessary to get it right in one try. Especially since that was all they were going to get. 

So when they broke for dinner well after sunset, Steve suggested tabling the discussion of adding more team members and pursuing more of Pym's concoction in favor of returning their attention to the task of procuring the Stones directly. His intent had been that dinner would be the end of their work day.

But naturally, the brilliant machine that was Tony's mind never stopped grinding. A problem existed without a solution, and he quite literally wasn't going to be able to rest until he discovered it. And of course, he all too easily pulled Natasha and Bruce along for the intellectual ride. Which is how those three wound up sprawled across the work table in the conference room, surrounded by takeout boxes, still spitballing potential locations for the remaining Infinity Stones.

Steve had bowed out as soon as he was done with dinner. Part of being a leader was being able to delegate, and he had three of the best minds in the world working on the problem of the Stones, even if he _had_ told them to take the night off. But since when had Tony ever listened to anyone who said that? Still, those three were sufficient brainstorming power until they all reconvened in the morning. Plus, the whole team had collectively ignored the comm channel all day, so Steve decided to let them churn away on the big problem while he caught up on the day's news in the break-room-turned-office. 

Thankfully, there was nothing pressing. A few natural disasters. Some national issues best left to what had remained of the world governments. Same old, same old. They still hadn't heard from Captain Danvers in a spell, which was disappointing but not yet concerning. If they were going to bring in anyone to help with the so-called "Time Heist," she was on the top of Steve's list. Assuming they could reach her.

Movement in the office doorway drew his attention away from his tablet. Clint had passed through the conference room on the other side of the glass, handing out what appeared to be bright bubblegum pink smoothies before arriving at Steve's desk with two more in hand.

"Figure we've all been eating like crap, so… y'know. Some fruit won't kill anything." he proffered one of the cups across the table. "Not all of us are super-duper, after all."

Steve accepted the drink with a smile. "Thanks. How's it going in there?"

"Well, Natasha and Tony were having a thrilling debate when I arrived." Clint replied, casting a lingering glance over his shoulder. "About which movie did time travel better. _Back to the Future_ or _Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure._ I'm sure it's relevant somehow, but I didn't stick around to ask why."

Steve snorted with unexpected laughter. "Again?" He asked amusedly before taking a long drink of his smoothie. It was good… strawberry and coconut if he had to guess. Tasted like something Clint's kids probably liked, though Steve kept that thought very much to himself and off his face.

"Bruce is trying desperately to keep them on track, but I think they're probably done for the night." Clint opined, perching lightly on the edge of the desk so he could watch the trio in the conference room goofing off. "Any news that's new and improved?" he asked, nodding to the tablet Steve had set aside.

"Nah." Steve replied. "We should be getting a daily check-in from Okoye over in Wakanda here before too long, but Nat said it's been pretty quiet over there."

"That's good." Clint said blandly, opting to sip his smoothie instead of comment further.

"How are you holding up?"

Clint cut him a coolly appraising look that held for a beat before he smiled just a little. "You want the sanitized answer that makes me sound sane, or the actual answer."

"Whichever you're comfortable giving me." he answered, his tone both careful and honest.

"Huh. Figured you for a "whole truth and nothing but the truth" kinda guy, Cap."

"Well… I've learned that the truth isn't all things to all people all the time."

Clint stared at him, blinking a few times in disbelief. "Sorry Steve, but did Natasha Romanoff's words come tumbling out of your mouth just now or did I have a stroke?"

Steve truly laughed at that, his gaze slipping just over Clint's shoulder to the glassed in conference room. Natasha was still laying on the table amid the takeout containers, one knee drawn up to her chest as she stared ponderously at the ceiling. Tony was curled up like a cat by her side and Bruce was sprawled on the floor surrounded by borrowed throw pillows. He was rubbing his temples as they kept talking. "I suppose she does rub off." he sighed, not bothering to hide even a sliver of the affection in his voice.

Clint followed his eyes, just in time to see Natasha launch a soy sauce packet over the edge of the table at Bruce with an inaudible giggle. "It's good to see her smiling." Clint said, his voice soft and distant. "She loved this part, you know. Back in our Strike Team Delta days? The planning… talking everything through. She loved that part. That's… where we really started to see the spark, y'know? But still… you didn't see a smile like that all that often."

"You're telling me."

Clint turned away from the view but didn't quite face Steve. He stared instead at the drink in his hands. "You guys still a thing?"

Steve just nodded, eyes on the desk now. They'd never really talked about this before, he and Clint, and it dawned on him that maybe they were about to have the superhero version of the shovel talk. 

But all Clint said was, "Good." his tone just a little too stiff for sincerity.

Before Steve could call him out on it or point out that he'd never answered his original question, he noticed that Natasha was suddenly on her feet and sprinting for the glass door with Tony and Bruce, both bleary-eyed but smiling, in hot pursuit. Both Steve and Clint straightened up as she came crashing into the room to slam her hands on the desk. "Guys!" She said, giddy laughter animating her voice. "We think we've figured out our personnel problem."

"Uh, correction. "We" didn't do shit." Tony said, popping an eggroll into his mouth whole. "This one was all you, Nat, and it's genius if I do say so myself."

Steve looked back to Natasha, spreading his palms in invitation for her to go on. 

"We've been utter morons, guys. Look. If we pick the right day, there are three Stones on Earth in New York City at the same _time._ " she told them, a clever and pleased-as-punch grin lighting up her face.

Steve's eyes flicked about as he thought. "Wait… you're talking about the Battle of New York!" 

"Exactly." Natasha said, still grinning ear to ear. "Whoever isn't going to space goes to New York City in 2012. It's a tall order to get it all done, but I think we can manage if we grab everything right after we catch… caught… catch Loki? After our past selves catch him, I mean. That puts two stones in Stark Tower and one at Bleeker Street at the same time in New York City."

"We might still have to divide and conquer a little," Bruce added. "But we would at least all be in the same postal code on the same day." 

"Fuck me, how in the hell did we not think of that?" Clint said, exasperatedly flicking his forehead with thumb and forefinger.

"Believe me, you're not the only one kicking themselves." Tony piped in around yet another eggroll.

"Well, good work, guys." Steve said with a smile as leaned back in his chair. "We'll convene down here tomorrow and get a plan going for New York. You should all really go get some rest."

"You first." Natasha shot back, before they all started to drift apart.

"Oh wait, Nat!" Bruce had gone back into the conference room and returned with a plastic package in his hand. "You forgot your fortune cookie."

"Oh thanks!" She caught it one handed when he tossed it before plopping down in the seat across from Steve, tearing the wrapper open with her teeth. 

"Nice catch on the Stones, Nat." Steve said, once it was just her and Clint in the room with him.

She shrugged and worked to swallow a mouthful of dry cookie as she tried to respond. When she couldn't manage, she snatched Clint's smoothie out of his hand and took a swig. "We were just overthinking it." she said once she successfully swallowed, ignoring the theatrically miffed side-eye that Clint was giving her. "We're acting like we're on a time crunch to get this figured out and we're really not."

"Yeah. It's strange to have the luxury of time, but it's not like hurrying will do us much good." Clint said.

"Agreed. Better to take our time and do it right than to botch our only chance." Steve added. "What's your fortune?"

Natasha was turning the little paper around in her hands and squinting at it as they talked. "It says… 'When you look down, all you'll see is dust. So keep looking up.' And also that is not the Chinese word for 'cabbage.'"

"Huh." Clint huffed. "Not bad advice. Doesn't really work with the whole "in bed" thing though."

"I thought it was "with a chainsaw?"" Steve said, frowning.

"You probably haven't heard the "in bed" one because no one wants to admit that sex exists in front of Captain America." Clint fired back.

Steve promptly choked on his smoothie.

Natasha didn't bother to suppress a laugh even as she shrugged, flicking the paper onto the desk and sitting back in her chair again. "I've definitely heard worse advice though."

"Pretty sure we can all say that." Steve said, still coughing a little.

"No kidding." Natasha agreed cutting him a roguish wink.

"Something something… not all things to all people?" Steve comedically arched an eyebrow at her.

"Something something." Natasha replied, an affectionate sparkle in her eyes. 

"On that note," Clint replied, his voice once again turning stiff and distant. "I'm going to go get some rest. I've got sent through time today. So, not only has it been a day, it's actually been more than one. Good night guys." He let one hand drag over Natasha's shoulder as he passed and she caught it in hers, winding their fingers together and giving a good squeeze.

"Good night, Clint." Steve replied, his gaze tracking his movement.

"Good night…" Natasha said, looking back at him, brows drawn together.

Clint's fingers hung in hers as he slipped towards the door. Just long enough for her to feel his strength. Long enough to feel his want. Long enough to make an ache flower in her chest from a stem she'd long thought withered. He looked back over his shoulder, and Natasha felt the loneliness and perfectly matched want in his eyes like a punch to the chest, chasing all the air out of her body. Something in her posture followed him a little, hoping his eyes and his hand would hang on just a minute longer. Just… just a minute...

But he didn't hang on. He dropped his gaze and her hand together, and saw himself out without another word. A moving shape. A shadow in the hallway and then… just an empty doorway. When Natasha turned back in her chair, she found Steve's eyes following that same trajectory, his chin propped on his fist. And then like the click of a camera shutter, his blue eyes slid over to meet hers. 

She let her own stare fall then, guilt at her reaction suffusing into her frame and bending it into a slouch. She opened her mouth twice, hoping to find words or an excuse but she had none.

"Go after him." Steve rumbled softly, jerking his chin in the direction of the door.

She looked up at him again and frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Go after him." he repeated a little more furtively this time. "You want to, and clearly he wouldn't mind. Needs it, probably."

"Steve." His name was a complete sentence. One that eloquently explained her need, her indecisiveness, and her guilt all in a single syllable. 

"Why not?" he asked with just the slightest tilt of his head.

"I… it's been forever."

"So?"

"You… I… We haven't talked about this." Natasha pointed out. "You and me."

Steve snorted and shook his head. "We didn't talk about Bucky."

Natasha blinked and swallowed at that, the recollection of how easily their relationship had shifted stinging just slightly. Would it… could it be that easy again? Just a pivot… a change in footing but not in position…

They _had_ done this once before...

"Go, Natasha." Steve said, nodding to the door again. "I'll still be here if you need me."

"I always need you."

"We all need each other." he said softly, leaning forward on the desk to look her squarely in the eye. "But the one that needs _you_ the most right now just walked out that door. Go."

She stared at the empty doorway for a beat, letting all the air in her lungs escape on a long sigh. Then she looked back at Steve. Into his steady blue eyes, crinkled with that earnest smile he always wore when he knew he was right and wasn't budging. She nodded a little, mostly to talk herself into standing, before she unfolded out of her chair. She crossed around the desk to cup Steve's jaw in both hands, thumbs smoothing the arch of his cheekbones as she drew him closer. He came to her easily, rolling his chair around and spreading his knees so she could stand between them. He arched up towards her, winding his arms around the backs of her thighs and letting her press her lips to his own in the most chaste and reverent of kisses.

"I love you." she whispered the words against his cheek. 

In response, Steve squeezed her even closer. "I love you, too." he said, kissing her again, more fiercely, gripping her with a hint of possession that made Natasha's bones melt a little. Not to stake a claim, but as if he were rooting himself in her. As if to say, _I'm not going anywhere. _Then he gave her a sweet little shove towards the door. "Now go. Not admitting that I've ever thought about Clint in the shower, but I don't imagine he dawdles." He shot her the most salacious wink she'd ever seen.__

__Natasha laughed, the sound wrung with surprise. "Okay." She whispered before backpedaling after Clint._ _

__"And Nat?"_ _

__She turned in the doorway. "Yeah?"_ _

__"If you need me…" Steve said, his intent falling smartly and unmistakably behind the words like a lead weight. "Call me. I'll be in my room."_ _

__She blinked twice as she processed. Held his gaze as she made sure she wasn't misreading his meaning. And when she was sure, she gave a tight little nod. "Okay. I will. Thanks, Steve."_ _

__His only reply was a clear nod of his own before he turned his attention to the debrief on her data pad._ _

__***_ _

__When Natasha arrived at Clint's room, she could already hear the water running. Steve hadn't been wrong in his assessment. Clint had never been one to drag his feet in the shower if he had no reason to, but she took a private moment to look around anyway. Not to be nosy, but just to look._ _

__She'd been shocked upon entry at how spartan it was. Everyone else's rooms had slowly filled in over the years with pictures and knick knacks and things that made it their home. Her own walls barely had paint showing anymore for being covered by a tapestry of photographs. But for Clint, Avengers HQ had never been home. And it occurred to her that she'd never actually been in Clint's room here at HQ. Even before Berlin, he'd rarely ever stayed at the facility more than a night or two. But they had kept him a room all these years. Natasha had insisted on it, even when they had gone more than three years without contact. It stood achingly empty, but it was still his. And it was her hope that he would come back to them one day._ _

__When she'd brought him in just a few days ago, all he'd been carrying with him was two duffel bags. One full of clothes and first aid, and the other containing nothing but tech and weapons. So now, the only things that marked his presence in the sparse room were those two duffel bags on the sofa (both of which remained mostly packed), and his katana on the kitchen table._ _

__And the water running in the bathroom._ _

__She approached the bathroom door and knocked. "Clint? It's just me." She spoke the words into the crack of the door. Her voice was shaky. Like she had just been running, and she would blame it, if asked, on the fact that she'd taken the stairs. But that wasn't entirely true. And Clint would know it._ _

___What was she doing here?_ _ _

__The door opened just as that panicked thought cleared her brain, and Clint, dripping wet and wrapped in a towel, appeared in the doorway. He wore a sweetly concerned frown in spite of the warmth of his smile. "Hey, Nat. Need something?"_ _

__She faltered on the precipice of an excuse before remembering herself. Or more specifically, remembering what Steve had practically sent her up here to do. What _she_ wanted to do in the first place, but had been afraid. And Steve had been her courage. And her push. _ _

__"Just to check on you." she answered, eyes on the tops of her shoes._ _

__Clint blinked at her, clearly still a little confused. "M'okay." He muttered, drawing back just a little, but giving no signal that he wanted to close the door._ _

__Natasha took the invitation, leaning her shoulder on the doorframe. "You didn't seem so okay when you left."_ _

__"Yeah, well… I just didn't want to be underfoot of you and Cap was all."_ _

__Natasha laughed, an amused sound strangled by a sudden wave of unexpected grief._ _

__"What? Why are you laughing? You are laughing, right?"_ _

__Natasha just shook her head, pressing her knuckles to her lips for a moment to choke back what could've been a startled sob or might've been yet more bladed laughter. "Because I'm about to have the same conversation with you that Bucky had with me after they un-brainwashed him in Wakanda."_ _

__"What d'you mean?"_ _

__"I mean that I was under the assumption that with Bucky back in Steve's life, I had to clear off. And Bucky had to set me straight on that."_ _

__Clint drew up short at that. "So wait… you and Steve, _and_ Bucky Barnes? Like… 'Winter Soldier' Bucky Barnes?"_ _

__"The very same."_ _

__"Didn't he shoot you that one time?" Clint's brow furrowed incredulously. "I seem to distinctly remember him shooting you."_ _

__"Didn't you?" She fired back with a twist of a grin._ _

__"That was one time!" He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "And it was with a grappling hook. You wouldn't stop running!"_ _

__"Well, I guess you two are even then."_ _

__Clint did laugh then, a bewildered and tired sound, but a mirthful one. A _relieved_ one._ _

__"Look," Natasha said, setting her shoulder against the doorframe. "Say no if you need to say no. Hell, I'm not even sure what I'm offering other than just…" She shook her head hard and started over. "Look. Say no if you need to. Because of Laura, or personal stuff, or whatever. I understand if, y'know, it's different now. But you don't have to say no because I'm seeing Steve. It's… never been like that between us. Our world's too chaotic for it."_ _

__"Nat, you know Laura's never been the reason we stopped seeing each other."_ _

__"No no, I know. I know. It was quite literally everything else. I just… a lot's changed. It's been a long time, and I didn't want to presume anything. But… even still, I thought I should check and see if you needed anything. Or… or needed me."_ _

__"I always need you, Nat." He said, leaning his forehead on the door jamb near hers. "If I've learned anything over these past five years, it's that I'm a garbage human without you, or Phil, or Laura to keep my head screwed on."_ _

__Natasha huffed a little laugh. "Say that again."_ _

__He gazed at her steadily, want and hurt swirling behind a most affectionate smile. "I need you, Nat."_ _

__She looked up at him, eyes smiling though her mouth barely moved. "Then can I come in?"_ _

__He nodded, dropping his eyes to the tile floor and backing up to let her through. "What about Steve though?"_ _

__"What specifically are you worried about?" Natasha said, slipping through the door and closing it behind her._ _

__"Just… like I said, I don't want to be underfoot. Come between you. Whatever. You've got a good thing going."_ _

__"And it's still going." She assured him. "He practically sent me up here, Clint. Almost put on the Captain America voice to do it too."_ _

__"Did he now?"_ _

__"Yep. So why don't you go get back in the shower, and I'll be on in just a second."_ _

__Clint blinked at her twice, and for a fleeting moment of held breath, Natasha thought she was going to have to backpedal. That this was going to be too much all at once for her friend._ _

___Her friend._ _ _

__That word had a much broader meaning now than it had before Steve._ _

__But Clint sucked in a sharp, decisive pull of air, and headed for the shower without further argument, his towel slipping from his waist as he went. Natasha just awkwardly nodded to herself as he went, eyes suddenly on the floor again. She hadn't seen Clint naked in a long time. Years and years. Not since shortly after Connor was born. It had surprised her, strangely enough, to be reminded how unabashedly comfortable Clint was in his own skin. But as soon as his back was turned she let her eyes drag over him as he walked. Noting how cut and strong he looked. And not failing to miss the newer of his scars, to say nothing of the full sleeve of tattoos._ _

__Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to put her hands and her mouth all over every inch of him. Just like she had years ago. To relearn every mark. Every scar. Every line and shade and shape. It was like a pilot light that had been burning steadily in an empty house. A little afterimage of her love and desire for her old partner that had never truly faded from view. She'd only grown accustomed to its dimness._ _

__Her love for her friend. Her oldest and dearest friend. Who she would do anything for. Give anything for. She'd been a fool to think time or distance had changed anything. Or could change anything._ _

__She stripped quickly and followed him into the shower. She found him standing under the spray, face up with his hair drenched. He heard her approach and turned, eyes falling over her naked body._ _

__"Natasha…" he whispered, hands coming up to encircle her waist when she stepped within his reach. He was already cataloguing all her new marks as well with eyes and questing fingers. She had fewer than him, but they were doozies nonetheless. And for a wordless moment, she just let him look. Let him touch her as she wanted to touch him. Let him feel her curves. Feel the lean lines of her muscles pulled taut on her bones with hours spent in the training yard over the years. But eventually, the new scars took precedence. He thumbed first at the ragged bullet hole in her shoulder that blushed at him shiny and pink, looking to her imploringly for an explanation._ _

__"The Winter Soldier." she said with a smirk._ _

__"Again?" he balked._ _

__"Yep." she confirmed. "That's the one from D.C."_ _

__"Doesn't that make twice?"_ _

__"Yep. He got me in the shoulder after I tried to garotte him. He's also thrown me into a car and through a table, tried to strangle me, and tried to blow me up with a proximity grenade."_ _

__"And then you decided to bang him?"_ _

__"Like a screen door in a hurricane. He would get all cute and guilty over it whenever he'd see it." Natasha said, giving an amused little wrinkle of her nose. "What's the story here?" she dragged one finger up the handsome sleeve of tattoos decorating his arm._ _

__"Spent a year trying to rout a white supremacist biker gang that kept lynching black kids in St. Louis. Helped with the cred."_ _

__"What is Laura going to say?" Natasha remarked in a mockingly scandalized voice._ _

__Clint just snorted, shaking his head at her brazen optimism. "She actually likes tattoos, so…" The sentence ended on a shrug._ _

__"You get the bastards?"_ _

__"Course." he said with a matter-of-fact shrug. "Left one alive with their target roster pinned to his chest for the police to find." He was turning her slowly in place as he talked, finding three faint white lines of scar tissue over her shoulder blade. "These are new." he said, tracing them with his fingers._ _

__"Vibranium claws, courtesy of the Black Panther himself. From when I got between him and Bucky in Berlin. Also cute when he apologizes, for the record. But not as cute as Bucky." It was Natasha's turn again. He had found a clean pink line just under Clint's ribs and she traced it with her fingertips. "How about this one?"_ _

__"Drug cartel. Switchblade under the kevlar. Not that long ago… maybe eight months?" Clint answered, fingering the raised ridge of skin himself. "Actually collapsed my lung. Thankfully, their compound had a doctor who had been kidnapped and forced to work for them. He got me stabilized. This one?" He thumbed at a rough patch of skin near the base of her spine._ _

__"Rocks." She replied. "Thanos trapped me under some rocks while we were trying to stop him from getting the Mind Stone. Here?" She pressed her palm to a ragged scar on the cap of Clint's shoulder._ _

__"Bullet graze. Human traffickers in… southern Alabama? Yeah, that's right." Clint turned her one revolution, eyes raking over every inch of her. "I don't see anymore. New ones anyway."_ _

__"And you have a lot more." She said, her fingers finding them, but her eyes still locked on his._ _

__"Says a lot about our lives lately doesn't it."_ _

__"I wish you'd come to us, Clint." Natasha said, hanging her arms around his neck, feeling his hands slip up her back. "We've been doing exactly what you've been doing."_ _

__Clint shook his head, burying his face in her shoulder. "I couldn't face any of you. Not after I didn't show up to help against Thanos."_ _

__"No one blames you for that, Clint. We didn't know how bad things were with Thanos until it was too late to let you know. It's… it's like I told you with Loki. This is nothing we ever trained for." Natasha said, cradling him to her and wiping a sodden curl off his forehead. "But I know you would have come anyway."_ _

__"Natasha, that's not the point. I should have already _been_ there. I made the wrong choice when I stayed with Laura."_ _

__"Clint…" she cupped his face between her palms and forced him to look at her. "You did what you thought was right. That's what we all did. Laura and the kids needed you."_ _

__"But what I thought was "right" wasn't helpful. What was "right" wasn't what Laura really needed. I was fooling myself. What we needed more than anything was to deal with Thanos together. Like Cap said. We were already down Tony. I should've-"_ _

__"There's no way to know if it would have been enough." She cut him off. "We had no idea what we were up against. Maybe… Maybe what's important is that you're here now. Maybe _now_ is when it counts. Maybe we were supposed to always lose no matter what we tried or who was there. Maybe that's what that wizard with the Time Stone was trying to tell Tony. This is how this is supposed to go because we get it right _this_ time."_ _

__"How can you say that when literal time travel is on the menu as soon as we can work out when and where we're going?" Clint countered._ _

__"Well, that wizard was the keeper of the Time Stone. Maybe he knows something we don't. But we have to keep going. No matter what. We have to believe this is going to work. For everybody."_ _

__Clint laughed then, cracking some of the brittle tension. "Boy, now you sound like Steve. Earlier he was giving me your "The truth isn't always the same to everyone" speech. Jesus, you two have been spending way too much time together."_ _

__"Maybe." she replied, feeling a proud smile flicker across her face. "But I've missed you." She raised up on her tiptoes to press her forehead briefly to his, their noses bumping together and her breasts pillowing against his firm chest in a way that made her suck in a breath._ _

__"Yeah?" There was a hint of a smile. That old "Clint's thinking dirty thoughts" grin that Natasha had thought she'd seen the last of years before._ _

__"Oh yeah…" her voice trailed off again as they settled even more closely together. Clint licked his lips, and she mirrored the motion before starting to search for words. "Can… can I…"_ _

__She unconsciously licked her lips again as she was struggling to get the words out. It had been so long since she'd ever had to ask Clint for anything, let alone for a kiss. But she didn't want to presume. Not what he wanted, or needed, or-_ _

__Before she could get the sentence out, he cupped her chin and kissed her himself. And oh… the familiarity of it stunned Natasha into complete, weightless silence. She swayed into Clint a little, her body seeming to know the way even if it had been so very long. After all these years… after all this time… with new scars for the both of them, they still hadn't forgotten how well they fit together._ _

__"Oh Clint…" she sighed against his lips. "I've missed this."_ _

__He was nuzzling along the line of her jaw, kissing away water droplets as he found them. "Me too." he said. "You're sure Steve doesn't mind? Because at this point, if I don't get to plow you through the bed tonight, I'm going to go crazy."_ _

__"He encouraged it." she replied. "And…" she bit down on the rest of the sentence. Should she tell him what Steve said before she left? Or would it be too much? Was this already too much?_ _

__"And?" he prompted when she faltered._ _

__Caution to the wind, then. "And… he might've suggested that he was… amiable to the idea of joining us. If we were so inclined."_ _

__Clint blinked so hard Natasha swore she heard his eyelids click. "Really now?"_ _

__"Yep."_ _

__"You're kidding."_ _

__"Not even a little."_ _

__"Back up. You're telling me that Captain Star-Spangled-Honest-Abe-Apple-Pie-God-Bless America with his shield and shining armor would be up for a threesome?"_ _

__"Well. I mean he, Bucky and I were together for a few years there." Natasha shrugged casually before cutting him a salacious grin that would melt steel. "Watching him suck Bucky Barnes's cock is one of life's great pleasures, let me tell you."_ _

__Clint actually laughed then. A merry and bewildered sound that sparkled in his eyes and rang off the wet tile._ _

__"I take it you're amenable?" She asked with a sultry twist of her shoulders. "Or are you just shocked?"_ _

__"Shocked? Absolutely. But I mean, if you're asking if I would mind being rutted up the garden path by the _literal_ American Dream? No. My ass and I are on board with that plan one hundred and ten percent." Clint replied, swaying her against him as he kept laughing, glassy eyed and clearly amused at the concept. Though whatever snippet of a personal fantasy played behind his eyes, Natasha had no idea. But she saw it… saw his eyes go dark before he shook the thought from his head. "But… I'd feel weird asking."_ _

__"Oh." Natasha said. "Well, if that's all… Hey, F.R.I.D.A.Y.?"_ _

__"Yes, Ms. Romanoff." The A.I. answered._ _

__"Clint and I are going to my room when we're finished here. Please tell Steve that if he'd like to join us, that's where we'll be." She dropped her eyes to level with Clint who looked like he could be knocked over with a feather. "There. He has the option now."_ _

__"Just like that?"_ _

__"Just like that." She repeated. "I mean he seriously did offer. You having second thoughts?"_ _

__"I'm having lots of thoughts, but none of them are things you should be concerned about. However, the cleaning staff…"_ _

__She popped him across the arm with the back of her hand, the wet smack echoing off the tile. But she kissed him too. Sweet and gentle, and full of beckoning teeth. "Come on. Let's actually get clean so we can go see if Steve is joining us."_ _

__***_ _

____Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,__  
_Is our destined end or way;_  
_But to act, that each to-morrow_  
_Find us farther than to-day._

____Art is long, and Time is fleeting,__  
_And our hearts, though stout and brave,_  
_Still, like muffled drums, are beating_  
_Funeral marches to the grave._

__***_ _

__Natasha had to admit that she wasn't sure if Steve would actually take her up on the invitation. This was new territory for them, but by the same turn, it really wasn't. They'd added Bucky, Steve's old flame back in the day, into their lives and into their bed with only minimal awkwardness, which had been mostly on her part. So why would it be strange for them to spend an evening (or maybe more) with Clint in the mix? Just to blow off some steam. Just to have a reason to smile and forget all this business with the Stones for awhile. Still… she wasn't certain of anything until she opened the door to her bedroom._ _

__She needn't have been so unsure. When they arrived, Steve was there waiting for them in the chair by her bed, still dressed in his jeans and a button down. By the looks of things he'd been there awhile, sitting with one heel hooked over his knee to serve as a prop for his tablet._ _

___Like he belonged there._ Natasha's brain fizzed with pleasure at the thought. _He belongs here. With me.__ _

__Steve looked up when they arrived, the artificial light from the screen reflecting in his eyes as he took their measure. But he smiled even as he appraised them._ _

__"Hey."_ _

__"Still working?" Natasha teased as both she and Clint crossed the threshold. "I thought we were supposed to be resting."_ _

__"Since when have I ever been good at taking my own advice?" Steve replied, setting the tablet aside on the nightstand. "Hi Clint."_ _

__Clint had lingered a few steps behind Natasha, as if he were having trouble believing what he was seeing. He had to swallow twice before his mouth was wet enough to speak. "Hi Steve."_ _

__Natasha looked back and forth between them for a spell, her mouth twisting in a smile wrought of pure gleeful amusement. "We all still good, or having second thoughts?"_ _

__"I'm having... thoughts." Clint said delicately, licking his lips. "But I'm only second guessing if you want to do this, Steve. Whatever… this is about to be."_ _

__He gave a mighty shrug with his broad shoulders as he hauled himself to his feet. The buttons of his shirt strained appealingly over the gesture. "No second thoughts. Natasha's invitation wasn't explicit, but I can read between the lines. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't interested."_ _

__Clint cut his eyes to Natasha who mirrored the shrug on her smaller frame. "Told you." she said, before jerking her chin in Steve's direction in a clear indication that Clint should get moving._ _

__And Clint did, on feet that seemed to be made of stone. He crossed the room as Steve opened his arms and they crashed together with hands and mouths and tongues entangling. No reservations. No holding back. They both dove for the contact head and hands first._ _

__It had been a long time since Natasha had watched Steve kiss someone. She knew how it felt. She knew quite intimately how it felt to have all that strength and warmth wound around and around her body. But seeing it. Seeing how he kissed with everything he had. As if his heart might crawl up his throat and into Clint's mouth. It was a strange image, but no less appealing. And no less apt. Steve was passionate in moments like this. Open and honest. No walls or veils between him and his desires. Not anymore. Not after everything._ _

__Clint seemed utterly lost to the entire experience. Lost to Steve's wandering hands and probing tongue. He was fairly melting under the attention, making these sweet, needy little sounds that Steve was swallowing down whole. And Steve… Steve was gone too, folding down over Clint and seeking to meld them together. Seeing it made Natasha swoon on the spot, as if she were the one being kissed._ _

__But Natasha didn't drool over the scene for long. Instead, she took advantage of their distraction. On her spy-quiet feet, she padded over to the bed, quickly stripping herself of her lounge clothes and spreading out on the comforter completely nude. When she was situated on the bed, she saw that they still hadn't noticed what she'd done. The two men were too wrapped up in mutual discovery of one another to realize she was up to something, and so much to her delight, her advantage continued. As they kept kissing, boldness and tentativeness spiraling back in on themselves in turn, Natasha slipped one hand down into the nest of russet curls between her legs. She found her clit with the pad of her middle finger and started working it in slow, teasing circles as she watched the scene unfolding before her._ _

__Their kisses turned to giggles as they kept pawing and pulling at one another. They laughed like school boys between kisses, leaning together and tugging playfully at each other's clothes. And for a fleeing, agony-ridden second, Natasha missed Bucky again. She always missed him, but now… This reminded her of so many sun-drenched afternoons in the Wakandan palace, when he and Steve would just lie in the sun and kiss and tease for hours. No urgency. No tentativeness either. Just togetherness… she missed it._ _

__And then it was gone. Like a passing rain shower. Clint had started unbuttoning Steve's shirt with an expression on his face tantamount to opening the Ark of the Covenant, and Natasha was lost to the show before her again. Lost to the sight of Clint paring back Steve's shirt button by button and chasing the fabric with utterly worshipful kisses. And she couldn't blame him in the slightest. She'd kissed the divine in much the same way on both of them at one point or another._ _

__And would again. She would again tonight, she realized. For _both_ of them._ _

__A little moan escaped her at the thought as she caressed herself, and it drew their attention like a magnet. They both turned and looked, freezing with hands still fisted in one another's clothes. They stared, open-mouthed and dark-eyed, watching raptly as Natasha pleasured herself._ _

__"Please. Don't let me distract you." She purred giving a little shimmy of her hips._ _

__Steve smiled then, a wicked, calculating smile she rarely ever saw. Just the slightest pull of that perfect mouth and a glimmer in his darkened eyes. A look hot and sharp enough to strike a match. With one finger, he turned Clint's face back towards him._ _

__"Clint?"_ _

__Clint licked his lips with a tongue that clearly felt heavy in his mouth. "Yeah, Cap? Steve? I meant Steve."_ _

__His nearly depraved smile grew teeth at that, but he sobered slightly and set a certain gravity to his tone. "Do you have anything you need to tell me that's off limits?"_ _

__Clint just shook his head, his kiss-swollen lips parted and slick with spit._ _

__Steve drew him a little closer, knitting his hands together at the small of Clint's back until he was puddled against Steve's chest. Clint looked so small next to Steve, Natasha noticed. He looked how she felt in the same position. Like he might be swallowed up by the circle of Steve's arms. "Normally, I'd be content to take it slow." Steve said, his voice low and rough, but still warmly solemn. "Figure things out as we went, but I look at her," They cut their eyes over at Natasha for a beat, and both needed to take a long slow breath to steady themselves. "And I don't think anything is going slow tonight."_ _

__"Yeah, no." Clint agreed with a tight, nearly circular nod. His eyes were everywhere but Steve's face. Trying not to stare. Trying not to look at Natasha again, where she was putting on a highly distracting show of her own._ _

__Steve hooked one finger under Clint's chin and lifted his face to look him in the eye. "The last thing I want to do is overstep. I know her. I know her boundaries and her limits. I don't know yours." he paused to trace his thumb gently along Clint's cheekbone. "You call stop, and we'll stop. Okay?"_ _

__"Yeah… yeah okay." Clint said, the words coming out haltingly, as if he were being snapped out of a trance._ _

__"You good?" Steve asked, noting that his knees had gone a little weak during the conversation._ _

__"I'm good." Clint confirmed._ _

__He slid his gaze over to Natasha again who was quite happily plunging two fingers into her pussy as she stared at them. "No need to ask if you're good, you little minx."_ _

__"Call me an opportunist." she sniped back despite her voice having gone more than a little breathy. "You two going to get a move on, or am I the only one getting any tonight?"_ _

__Steve looked back at Clint, still wearing that wickedly filthy smile. "She always been this pushy?"_ _

__"I will freely admit that I have been tied to the bed more than once." Clint replied._ _

__Steve snorted, giving a little bat of his eyelashes to convey his complete lack of surprise. "You um… Are you terribly attached to your pants at present?"_ _

__"No." Clint said, hands already on the drawstring._ _

__But Steve caught them, twining their fingers together and pulling his hands away. "Something tells me she wants a show." he said, his voice gone low and dusky. "I feel like I should give her one. Give her a little taste of her own medicine." With that, Steve dropped to his knees and with nothing but his teeth, he pulled the knot free that fastened Clint's pants around his hips._ _

__"Oh God…" Clint and Natasha said together, both their heads falling back for a moment before they realized they didn't want to miss a moment of this._ _

__Steve pulled down Clint's pants and boxers until they were around his thighs and his cock already rock-hard bobbed out. Steve caught it on his tongue, curling it along the underside before sucking the head delicately past his perfect lips. The sound Clint made was almost feral as he reigned in a chasing thrust of his hips. He glanced briefly at Natasha who watched the whole scene with a slack jaw and wide eyes. She rarely ever got to watch Steve suck cock like this… from such a clear angle. From her position on the pillows, she could see the flawless line his jaw work… that shadowed knot of muscle under his cheek swelling and rolling as he took Clint deeper and deeper._ _

__He gave just a few long sucks before he backed off, replacing his mouth with a loose fist as he stared up at Clint. "More?" he asked before laying a tantalizing kiss against the head of his cock._ _

__"Yeah." The word was pinched between his gritted teeth as he steadied himself on Steve's shoulders. "Yeah... but… be careful. I… come really easy from oral. It's… a thing."_ _

__There was that smile again. Steve's rare, nearly predatory smile that made Natasha's insides clench around the knuckles of her own fingers. "I'll behave." he said, with a tone that promised nothing but the opposite._ _

__"I almost want to say please don't." Clint half-whimpered._ _

__"Oh, I won't the whole night. I'm just getting you ready for her." Steve replied before sucking Clint down once more and eliciting a loud shout of pleasured shock._ _

__God, Steve looked so good like this, his sublime profile working over Clint's ample length. Him sucking and swallowing on that sweet little arch of Clint's cock that Natasha knew stroked her inner walls just right when he would settle into a rhythm. It was probably rubbing along the roof of Steve's mouth, and pressing against his tongue..._ _

__Natasha kept working her fingers in her pussy, stroking that one sweet spot over and over to stoke the fire burning low in her core. It was still just out of reach. But not for long. Not if she kept watching Steve swallowing greedily around Clint's cock. Kept watching Clint's face as he worked so hard not to just come blindly down Steve's throat._ _

__After a small incandescent eternity, Clint pushed weakly at Steve's shoulders. "Steve… Steve… I can't… you gotta stop…" he begged, though he sounded like he wanted nothing of the sort._ _

__Steve pulled off, his lips swollen and stretched with a satisfied smile as he watched Clint catch his breath. "I bet I could tease you for hours like this."_ _

__Clint just nodded wildly, licking his lips in a vain attempt to wet his mouth. His chest was heaving as he tried to drag himself back from the precipice._ _

__"Clint, can I ask you a question?" Steve said, rocking back on his heels. "And it's fine if the answer's no."_ _

__"Yeah?" the word was barely the shape of a question._ _

__"If I wanted to fuck you… would you say-"_ _

__"Oh God, please." Clint said, flattening one hand to his cock as if he might shoot off just from considering it._ _

__Steve barely reined in a laugh at his reaction. "Well, alright then." He pulled himself to his feet and caught Clint's upturned mouth with his own. Clint drank down the kiss like he was dying of thirst. Clinging and pulling at Steve's clothes as he crushed their mouths together. "You gotta do something for me though."_ _

__"Anything." Clint groaned against Steve's throat_ _

__Steve shot Natasha a rather amused and pleased look. "Anything, huh? Well… It seems our darling Natasha over here has been somewhat neglected."_ _

__Clint tore himself away from laying a messy line of hot, open-mouthed kisses along Steve's chest to look at Natasha. She gave a coquettish little wave as she continued to pump her fingers lazily into the slick folds of her pussy. She was mostly just stoking the fire at this point… no real intent. Just enjoying the show. Enjoying Steve throwing his weight around and Clint getting all flustered about it._ _

__"I need you to get her licked out… all nice and wet so you can fuck her. Seeing as I'm going to be fucking you."_ _

__"I can do that." Clint shed his clothes in record time and spilled across the bed in a tumble of bare limbs to fall between Natasha's legs. "I can so do that." He looked up at her, wordlessly seeking permission. Which she gave in the form of a nod and a hand knitted into his hair. Needing no further encouragement, he swept both arms under her ass and pulled her to him, burying his face against the blushing slit of her pussy and giving the full length of it from bottom to top a long, generous lick._ _

__"Oh fuck…" she groaned low in her throat as she sank her fingers into his hair. She was holding on to Clint more for herself than to give any direction to him. He needed no help in that regard. He eagerly sucked her clit and licked deep into the slick cleft of her pussy, palming her breasts all the while. He didn't need any encouragement. Even after years apart, he still seemed to know exactly how to build her up and take her apart._ _

__Natasha heard a satisfied huff followed by footsteps. She pried her eyes open to watch Steve slowly stripping out of his shirt as he moved to their bedside table. God, he moved like a dream. And Clint's tongue felt like a dream. All of it swirled together into a dizzying fantasy she hadn't known she wanted until that precise moment._ _

__"Enjoying yourself?" Steve asked when he saw her watching him._ _

__She nodded, panting feverishly when Clint swirled his clever tongue around her clit. It sent her arching up off the bed with a breathy cry._ _

__"Yeah? I bet he's really good at that, given how well he kisses."_ _

__Natasha somehow summoned enough air to laugh, even though the motion drove her down onto the point of Clint's tongue, letting him lick even deeper and sending her arching up off the bed again. Meanwhile, Steve was digging around in the bedside table, eventually producing a bottle of lube._ _

__"What… what brought this on, if… if I can a-ask?" she managed, her eyes still following him as he moved back around behind Clint. "You're not usually so… so…"_ _

__"Sexy? Suave? Confident?" He said with a little swagger in his shoulder and a playfully sultry arch of an eyebrow._ _

__"I was going to say so much of a commanding little shit." she cut back as dryly as she was able considering what Clint was still doing with his tongue. Everything was warm and wet and wonderful, and that feeling was slowly seeping out like oil under her skin._ _

__Steve snorted, a real smile painting his beautiful mouth. "You love it though."_ _

__"I do. Both of you…" She said, looking down to where Clint was busily eating her out. He hummed appreciatively, the vibrations making goosebumps break out on her flushed skin. Her head fell back on the pillow as she lost herself to the sensation again. Clint had always been perfect at this… so good at the slow build up that was neither teasing or frustrating. He knew where he was going… what he was doing… how to wind her up so perfectly that when she finally let go, the rush was dizzying._ _

__Natasha felt the bed dip and looked up to see that a now nude Steve had dropped to his knees on the bed and was crawling up behind Clint. He flattened his palm to Clint's lower back, gently garnering his attention. She whined a little at the loss of his mouth on her pussy, but mercifully he replaced his tongue with his fingers, working her clit in those perfect little circles._ _

__"Clint, you still good with this?" Steve asked, his voice losing some of it's previously playful flair._ _

__"Absolutely." came the enthusiastic but rough-edged response._ _

__"Good." Steve said, his mischievous smile returning in an instant. And with that he was curling up beside both Clint and Natasha as he slicked up two fingers._ _

__Clint wantonly drew up his knees and made a show of practically presenting his bare ass for Steve. And Natasha watched as Steve's smile grew teeth once again… hungry, hungry teeth, like she'd never really seen from him before. This was different than with Bucky. And she suddenly understood how. This was just fun. No horrible past history to tiptoe around. No regrets. Nothing to haunt him in this bed. Just his partners. His teammates._ _

__His friends._ _

__One of which was clearly a slut for ass-play, and he was more than happy to oblige him._ _

__Steve slipped his fingers down the cleft of Clint's ass until they reached the puckered ring of muscle. He started working him slowly, in gentle circles, feeling as Clint relaxed almost instantly under his touch. It would still be slow going, Steve could tell. He didn't want to make any guesses as to the bedroom lives of Clint and Laura Barton, but he felt unaccountably tight. But even as he thrilled at the prospect, Steve had patience. He was happy to go slow. Especially since Clint seemed in no hurry to bring Natasha off, even as she writhed on the pillow making the most beautifully frustrated sounds._ _

__"You, ah… gonna be getting her off anytime soon, Barton?" Steve teased, fingers still moving in their sinuous, sinful pattern._ _

__Clint rocked himself back against Steve's fingers, throwing a swollen-lipped smirk over his shoulder. "What, you think I don't know the key to Natasha's lock? She loves a good slow build-up."_ _

__"I just know I'm hoping to make you just a little more distracted from the task."_ _

__"Oh trust me…" Clint looked up at Natasha, sucking her slick off his bottom lip. "This is hardly the first time I've needed to concentrate on more than one thing at a time."_ _

__And with that, Clint's hand shifted. She had a second to wonder what he was doing before a wonderfully familiar sensation washed up from her core to make stars dance in her vision. Clint was doing that thing with his fingers. Everyone had a "that thing," she knew. And Clint's was this wonderful trick where he would stroke her clit with his thumb and forefinger… almost pinching it between them. Oh she'd forgotten this… forgotten how good it was… how quickly he could carry her to the edge of what felt like blissful oblivion and hold her there on the knife's edge of pleasure and oversensitivity._ _

__Natasha was in heaven. She had died, and by some bizarre twist of fate, she had garnered a place in heaven. These two were putting on a damned spectacle for her, both of them naked and teasing. And all of it was for no one but each other. Just the three people in this room. And while Natasha was by no means a jealous person about any of her partners, there was some preening and greedy part of her that thrilled at the idea that there was no one to witness this but her. She was the only one to hear how whispery Clint's moans turned when Steve slid the tip of one finger past his entrance. Or see Steve bite his lip when he felt how forge-hot Clint's body was inside. How Clint had bucked back for more even as he curled his tongue in her pussy._ _

__The key to her lock, indeed. He could crack her apart like a safe._ _

__And he was. Little by little, she could feel herself starting to come unraveled as she watched Steve sink his fingers deeper and deeper into Clint's ass with pleasantly calculating focus. Clint had teased her up so tight that she felt like just the slightest overstimulation would have her flying apart. And he held her there. Held her at that precipice for what seemed like hours as he rocked himself back onto Steve's fingers. Eyes half-lidded and face gone slack. God, Clint was a treat to watch like this. His swollen lips parted around the neediest sounds as he worked himself and worked her in tandem._ _

__She suddenly realized that he was probably mirroring what Steve was doing to him. That he was following Steve's touch as he stroked Natasha's inner walls. And that sent her hurtling unexpectedly over the edge. She set her nails into Clint's shoulders and howled as a near-incinerating orgasm swept up from her core, burning through every coherent thought she had hoped to have that evening._ _

__When the stars finally cleared from her vision, Clint was pressed up onto all fours, pushing back and meeting Steve's hand as he steadily worked his fingers into his ass. The tip of Clint's cock was drooling steadily, and if Natasha could've boasted a single working limb, she might've shimmied down to help lick him clean. But as it stood right now, all she could do was bask._ _

__When Steven noticed she was able to focus again he arched a playful eyebrow from over Clint's shoulder. "You back with us?"_ _

__"Marginally." She replied, the word coming out as muzzy as she felt._ _

__Steve leaned forward and whispered in Clint's ear. "You ready for more, or should I keep going with him like this for awhile."_ _

__"More…" came the adamant if gossamer-thin reply. Not from her, but from Clint. His hands were fisted in the comforter and his whole body had drawn up into the most beautiful arch as he chased Steve's hand._ _

__Natasha gave a throaty, pleasure-drunk laugh, sitting up to steal a sloppy kiss. "Definitely more." she agreed._ _

__"Oh good." Steve said. "Because I am not made of stone, and you two are making it very difficult for me to be patient for my turn."_ _

__When he slipped his fingers out of Clint's ass he actually moaned rather brattily at the loss. But Steve quickly arranged him on his side, facing Natasha, blanketing himself along Clint's back and snugging his groin against the ample curve of Clint's bottom. "Who do you want to go first, Clint?" he asked._ _

__"Y-you…" Clint replied, reaching back and tugging on Steve's thigh for emphasis._ _

__"Alright." Steve leaned down and kissed the nape of his neck as he groped around in the bedclothes for the lube. Natasha took both of Clint's hands in hers as she watched Steve apply a very generous amount of slick to his cock. Clint stretched towards Natasha, stealing a quick kiss that ended in a wanton little moan. She could tell he was gone, or nearly there. Completely strung out on need and sensation, and yet still craving more._ _

__"We've got you, Clint." she whispered, letting him bury his face between her breasts._ _

__Steve lined himself up, and Clint was already pushing back against the blunt head of his cock. Steve was going to ask for one more word of reassurance. Of consent and enthusiasm, but it would all be window dressing. Clint was writhing between them, and had been practically presenting his ass all night. That was all the consent Steve really needed. He truly wasn't made of stone, after all._ _

__He'd expected Clint to hiss or tense when he pushed in. He'd expected to go slow. To take it nice and easy since this was their first time together. Steve was not a small guy in any respect, so he'd been ready to watch for signs that the initial pleasure was tipping too far towards pain._ _

__But Clint just melted back against him, curling his hips back and pulling Steve's length into the scalding, squeezing clutch of his body with a single thrust and a slow sigh of relief. It was Steve who was left gasping at the first penetration. Left shocked and heaving for air as he buried his face against the muscles of Clint's back, fighting every instinct... Every desire to just rut and thrust and _fuck_ the deliciously pliable body spooned against his._ _

__"Good isn't he?" Natasha asked, taking in the utterly blissed out looks on their faces, and they both nodded._ _

__"Fuck…" Steve swore, hitching his hips to get just a little deeper._ _

__"My turn." Natasha said, swinging one leg over their joined hips and perching herself just over the drooling tip of Clint's cock. "You ready?"_ _

__Clint just nodded again. Words were clearly out the window. He could barely pull enough focus away from the delicious pressure in his ass to breathe let alone speak._ _

__Natasha slid down onto his length easily, her flushed pussy swallowing him up and making him pitch forward to settle against her breasts again. She looked over his shoulder to where Steve lay curled around him, his hips twitching as he fought the urge to fuck up into that delicious heat._ _

__She spooned up his jaw in her hand, finding his blue eyes blown totally lust-black with pleasure. "Move for us, Steve." she purred, the words felt as much as heard by her partners. "Let me feel you."_ _

__And he did. With his muscles rippling in the dim light, he thrust into Clint with slow, undulating rolls of his body that sent him cascading into Natasha. Clint moaned, open-mouthed and panting against Natasha's throat as Steve set his body in motion. And Clint clung to Natasha as he sank deeper and deeper into the shivering warmth of her body, drawing her to him in an exquisite arch._ _

__With that first thrust, they were lost to each other. They were lost in and around and beyond the pleasure they were sharing. A single motion or moan or gasp from one set off a chain reaction of sensation through all three of them. They had no choice but to hold onto each other as Steve lead them in a sinuous dance of intoxicating ecstasy. They kissed and grabbed and writhed and moaned… none moving or even breathing without the others feeling it._ _

__The three of them clung to one another like driftwood in the rising tide of their shared euphoria. Natasha could feel her brain going cottony with it, and see the taut lines of strain in her partners' faces as they strained towards this thing they were sharing. They were completely bewitching. Steve as he chased his desires. Clint as he fell apart between them, seeming to beg for the inevitable wave to wash him away._ _

___They were beautiful like this,_ Natasha thought. And in a flash, she realized that she might never see this again. Never have them both again after today. Success or failure… however that looked. They only had this tonight. Only tonight for sure._ _

___We have what we have when we have it._ Her own words rang like Thor's hammer in her skull._ _

__Clint was lost to the mingling sensations, his eyes half-lidded and glazed, but Steve saw it happen. Saw the poisonous thought crawl behind her eyes like a snake through the grass. He pressed forward on the next thrust, crushing Clint between them, quite pleasantly from the sound he made, and kissing her face. He missed her lips squarely, but the sentiment rang true regardless._ _

___Stop that._ he seemed to say, tightening his grip on her hip and pulling her down onto the next thrust he sent rolling through Clint's body. _Stay with me.__ _

__And she did. She pushed the thought away and down, letting the pleasure well up unabated within her once more. Clint was moaning like he was dying between them, eyes closed now and jaw slack as he gasped and shuddered. He'd become a conduit for sensation. No thought. No action. Just a vessel to receive and give pleasure in turn. Caught and stretched between them… content to float on the tide._ _

__Steve leaned down in his ear. "You've been awfully patient tonight."_ _

__Clint just nodded, long since past the ability to form words._ _

__"Make Natasha come, and you'll get what you've been waiting for."_ _

__Clint's eyes opened then, pupils swollen but clear and bright. He fumbled for her clit, bracing one hand over the flat of her back to help her meet Steve's shared rhythm. His pleasure-numb fingers found it after a moment of searching, circling the swollen little nub as he buried his face between her breasts._ _

__"Oh…" Natasha barely made more than a shape of the sound. Hardly more than a surprised escape of breath. It was as if all the teasing and all the tempting was nothing but dry tinder, and Clint had just thrown a match. Heat swept up from her core like lava, burning out through her bones and under her skin and up to the backs of her eyes to sear her vision white. She might've screamed as she ground herself down onto Clint's length. She certainly set her nails into whoever's arm she currently was holding onto as she rode the blinding, blistering torrents of her orgasm._ _

__Steve was talking, whispering something against the nape of Clint's neck. Natasha had rolled to her back, hair spilling dark and bloody across the pillow as she twitched and writhed in the afterglow. Steve pushed Clint down onto his face, one arm binding him against his chest as he redoubled his pace._ _

__"That's it Clint… come on…" Natasha could distantly hear Steve's roughened voice as his hips pistoned against Clint's ass._ _

__Clint was staring at her, arm still tossed around her heaving ribs as Steve drilled into him from behind. His gaze had gone listless and glassy again as he liquidly stared through her, even as he gripped her close. He twisted on the comforter in an effort to cant his hips back as much as possible, but Steve was so big and so strong, Clint was effectively pinned in place._ _

__"Oh… Clint…" Steve sighed, head thrown back. There was a tightening of his abs and a flicker of near-pained bliss on his face and Steve was coming, dragging Clint under the waves of pleasure after him, their moans twining together into a single enraptured sound._ _

__Steve fell back to the pillow with a soft thump. And when his limbs worked again, Clint dragged Natasha closer again until all three of them were a messy spooning pile of limbs. Steve nosed at Clint's hair. Natasha kissed Clint's fingers, letting her lips and teeth catch on his calluses… old and new alike. Familiar and unfamiliar. She painted long caressing lines over Steve's sweat-sheened skin, skimming the shadows made by the muscles. He glowed like a god in this dim light. Like something not meant to be touched and yet begging to be._ _

__And Natasha kissed Clint. As she hadn't done so enough over the course of the evening. Not since the shower. He still tasted the same, she realized. The same Clint even after all this time. After everything. After everything for both of them._ _

__“Mmm… kisses m’favorite…” Clint slurred the words into her cheek before kissing her there as well._ _

__Natasha laughed a little. “Jesus, Steve. What did you do to him?”_ _

__He put on a championship mask of innocence and gave a gallant shrug. “You’re acting like I’ve never reduced you to such a state.” Even in spite of his bravado, the words came out thick and nearly drunk._ _

__Her eyes narrowed playfully. “Mmm… So arrogant. What’s gotten into you?”_ _

__“You’re the one always begging for a show if you’re not putting one on yourself." Steve replied. "Maybe it’s just rubbing off.”_ _

__Clint shifted between them. "Mmph...'m sticky…" he muttered._ _

__"Me too." Natasha replied. "Shower? Again? We'll hate ourselves less in the morning."_ _

__"I'll strip the comforter too. Not like we'll need it." Steve said, slowly working himself into a more upright position. It was taking some effort, serum or no._ _

__The cleanup was a quick and nearly drunken affair. The three of them piled into Natasha's shower and just stood under the spray in a caressing heap. None of them were really doing much actual washing. More just waiting for the water to just wash the stickiness and sweat away. And once toweled and dry, they were back in bed in short order._ _

__Well, Steve and Natasha were._ _

__"Should I-" Clint had started to ask. He'd lagged behind them coming out of the bathroom and now he stood a safe distance away from the bed, jerking one thumb towards the door._ _

__A smile pulled at Natasha's mouth. There was that conversation again. The same one she'd had with Bucky. It had taken her a few assurances to believe she was welcome too. Maybe it was the blinding orgasm still fizzing in her brain, but it hurt less to think of that right now. It was just a pleasant memory. Like this would be one day._ _

__She extended her hand. "Stay." She implored. And he didn't argue further. He slipped between the sheets and settled in facing her. Steve tightened his arm around both of them, and they were all asleep within seconds._ _

__***_ _

__When Natasha came to the next morning, she shivered a little. Steve was gone from behind her, but Clint was still there beside her. Still in the exact same position he fell asleep in; arm over her waist and legs tangled with hers and his face pressed against her breastbone. The way he'd always slept back in the day, be it on her chest or Phil's. She pressed her nose lightly into his hair and let herself breathe in the gray dawn, letting his own drowsy breathing guide hers. She had missed this. She hadn't held a grudge about it. But she couldn't deny that she had missed it terribly._ _

__Speaking of missing people, Natasha raised her head a fraction, cocking her ear towards the bathroom and then to the door to the rest of her suite. She could hear the faint clink of coffee mugs and the boom of the refrigerator door. Ah. There he was. Satisfied that Steve hasn't gone far, she settled down on her pillow again._ _

__The movement had roused Clint, but only just. He opened one bleary green-gray eye to peek at her before closing it again in a cavernous yawn. He stretched, but he didn't move far. If anything he settled closer._ _

__"What time is it?" Clint asked, the words tickling against her collar bone._ _

__Natasha rolled to her back to grab her phone, spilling Clint across her chest. "Not quite eight o'clock." she replied, settling back against the pillows and snugging Clint against her ribs again. His inked arm fell across her ribs and she found herself tracing the lines of the tattoo, gradually losing herself in thought._ _

___Her Clint… cut up, scarred up, and inked up,_ she mused to herself as he dozed on her chest._ _

__Or she thought he was dozing. After awhile he looked up at her, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth and crinkling around his eyes. She knew in an instant that he was well aware of what she was thinking as she traced the ink on his skin._ _

__“The one thing you could never save me from was myself.” He told her, voice husky from sleep._ _

__“Doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying.” she replied, kissing his hairline. "You and Phil never gave up on me."_ _

__"Course not." Clint replied, snuggling a little closer._ _

__"Did it hurt?” she asked after a while, her fingers still wandering along the patterns on his skin._ _

__“The healing is worse that the actual inking. Itches like a motherfucker. Real hard not to scratch." As the words tumbled out of his mouth his smile turned sardonic. “Fitting for the situation, I guess. Least you and Cap have learned not to scratch.”_ _

__“Yeah. We’re both just workaholics busy scratching at something else entirely and pretending it has nothing to do with it. I wasn’t lying when I said we were doing the same as you.”_ _

__"You just didn't like my methods."_ _

__"Your methods looked a lot like my methods." she replied. "My old methods. I didn't mind a bit who you were using them on. I just… didn't want it to catch up to you. The way it almost caught up to me."_ _

__"It did catch up to you."_ _

__"No, it didn't." She bumped their noses together. "You got to me first."_ _

__Clint's expression softened and he pressed up, covering her mouth with his own in a sweet press of shared breath. When he moved, she could feel the thickened arch of his cock slot against the hollow of her hip, and he rutted unconsciously into the friction._ _

__"Sorry." He muttered, dropping his head to hide a rising blush._ _

__"Mm… don't be sorry. If you want to go around this morning, you won't have to twist my arm."_ _

__"I'm sore." he grumbled. "Likely wouldn't be good for much."_ _

__"I know that feeling." Natasha said, leaning down to steal another kiss. "Want me on top? Let me do all the work?"_ _

__"I can get on board with that." Clint said with a sleepily salacious smile._ _

__She rolled Clint onto his back and pulled herself astride him. And with a curl of her spine and a rock of her hips, she fed his sweetly arched length deep into her pussy. Clint groaned, his body tensing under her before he went completely boneless and limp._ _

__"Oh God, I'm so glad you're on top…" he said, his muscles bunching and twitching under her hands every time he would go to move. "I would be useless…"_ _

__"He's good isn't he?" It was hardly a question, just something to distract them as she settled into a slow, undulating rhythm._ _

__Clint nodded, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. "So are you."_ _

__"So are _you_." She replied with a particularly luscious roll of her hips. _ _

__Clint caught her hips in his hands first, but then when she leaned over him and let the perfect swell of her breasts swing over his face, he couldn't resist touching them. He palmed them up to his face, cradling them, tasting them, feeling the weight against his hands and his tongue._ _

__"That was always your favorite part."_ _

__"All of you is my favorite part." Clint argued, his voice muffled by her skin as he lipped at one of her nipples. "I just didn't get to play with these much last night…"_ _

__"You were a little… pre-occupied. Not that I blame you."_ _

__"Mmm… he always fuck like that?"_ _

__"Like what?"_ _

__"I dunno… like- ah! Like… like he belongs there? Rutting you up like… he owns you?"_ _

__"Not always." Natasha replied, scratching a hand through Clint's hair. "Took him a little while to get used to the idea of playing rough. Guess I can't blame him."_ _

__"Me neither." Clint sighed a happy pleasure-bound sigh. "I miss getting roughed up like that."_ _

__"Well… you know where to find us." She replied, catching his bottom lip between her teeth and giving it a nibble._ _

__"Clearly he knows where to find you." Steve's voice from the doorway made them both jump and freeze, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. They turned to see him leaned against the door jamb, wearing nothing but an undershirt and his boxers, which did nothing to hide his burgeoning erection. "Well, don't stop on my account. I'll wait my turn this time. I can have a turn, right?"_ _

__"Of course." Natasha's voice was whisper thin as her hips started moving again. She arched an eyebrow down at Clint. "Our turn to put on a show?"_ _

__"I'm game."_ _

__His hands were on her again, cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples until they stood pert and tight. Then he covered each one with his mouth, sucking it until it blushed pink. Meanwhile, Natasha's hands were in her hair. Her back bent in the prettiest supple arch as she rode Clint with positively sensuous thrusts. And he could only lay there, hands trembling as he touched her._ _

__His calloused fingers eventually found her clit and began working it in generous circles that made her buck and shiver. But even still he trembled. She could feel him drawing up tight underneath her. He was getting close. And so was she._ _

__A soft moan from off to the side drew their attention. Steve had approached the bed and taken his cock in hand. He was stroking himself lazily, those luscious pink lips of his parted in the prettiest little "oh." And when he caught them watching, he gave his length a lingering, squeezing tug that milked a bead of precome from the tip as he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and pinched it white._ _

__"Jesus…" Clint swore at the sight, hands tightening against her skin, and his thumb working starting to move faster over her swollen clit._ _

__"You gonna watch him fuck me?" she purred, failing to keep the hitch out of her voice when she felt his cock jump inside her. "After you're done with me?"_ _

__Clint just nodded, deprived of speech once again._ _

__Steve gave another delicious moan, and that was enough to send both Natasha and Clint spiraling over the edge they'd been courting since they woke up. Clint held her pelvis flush with his and she could feel his come rushing up inside her shuddering body. They thrust together once, twice, three more times and then Natasha started to tip forward, her limbs going slack as pleasure flooded through them._ _

__But she felt new hands on her. One on her hip and one on the nape of her neck. Steve was behind her, pulling her back and up so that her face was level with Clint's breastbone. And just like that he was feeding his fat length into her still twitching and overstimulated pussy. An inarticulate sound crawled its way up her throat as she bowed back to let him sink in all the way._ _

__"Fuck yes." he breathed. "You're so slick."_ _

__"Yeah… 's my fault." Clint mumbled, his hands still on her breasts as Steve started dragging his cock back out again._ _

__"You good like this, Clint?" Steve asked._ _

__"No place I'd rather be…" he murmured tossing him a lazy grin._ _

__"Nat?"_ _

__"Do you really need to ask?" she said, the words weaving like drunks as she tried to work herself backwards onto his cock. Just a little more friction… just a little more..._ _

__He leaned forward with an affectionate smile before pressing his perfect lips to her cheek. "I know. I just love to hear you say yes."_ _

__She snorted then, bucking her hips back even more insistently. "Fuck me, Rogers. You know I'm not a patient girl."_ _

__"I already gave you one orgasm." Clint said, before setting his teeth against her nipple and scraping to earn himself a sweet little gasp._ _

__"And you of all people should know that I never stop at one." She retorted._ _

__Steve's smile twisted hungrily on his mouth as he set to a steady rhythm that had them both gasping and trembling in no time. He'd been close when he started, having worked himself up pretty far just watching. And with Clint playing with her breasts, and Steve's heavy length stroking her in all the right places, Natasha was back on that wonderful edge in no time. They came together just like always. Practice really did make perfect. She gasped, and he groaned, and with one last thrust they were both falling apart together._ _

__And just like that, all three of them fell together in the exact same spot they'd fallen asleep in the night before, with Steve draped over Natasha's back and Clint curled up against her chest like a sleepy kitten._ _

__"And here we are again." Natasha said, pulling them both tighter around her with shaking hands._ _

__"Here we are again. I like here." Steve opined, face buried in her hair._ _

__"Me too." Clint said, sounding sleepy again._ _

__"Well, when we all feel like moving, I made coffee, and the waffle iron is preheating." Steve said._ _

__"Oh, hell yes." Natasha cheered, leaning back for a kiss. But she made no other sign of moving. Her thighs were still twitching._ _

__"Does he always pamper you like this in the morning?" Clint asked. "I might have to move in."_ _

__"If you're talking about the morning sex, yes. Like… every morning. It's kind of ridiculous. We're late to training all the time because-"_ _

__"Oh, is _that_ why?"_ _

__"Romanoff, I swear-" Steve started, color flushing anew in his cheeks._ _

__"Pff. You had his cock in your mouth less than twelve hours ago, Rogers. Don't go all boy scout on me now."_ _

__Clint cackled. "Yeah… if this plan to get the Stones fails spectacularly, I'm moving in and getting rich writing a sit-com about you two."_ _

__"Barton, don't you start!" She said, going straight for his ribs with wriggling fingers and earning herself a yelping, giggling shriek._ _

__He was out of the bed in an instant. "Hey, no fair!" He said, looking around on the floor for his lounge pants._ _

__"Totally fair." Natasha sniped back, pulling Steve around her._ _

__"So since you're up, Clint… would you-"_ _

__"If you're about to ask me to bring you breakfast in bed, Nat, there is clearly a lot you've forgotten about me." Clint said, pulling a t-shirt over his head. "And one of those things is that if there are waffles, I'm eating all of them." And with that, he left the room, with both a spring in his step and a significant limp._ _

__Steve dropped a kiss against the cap of Natasha's shoulder, a soft laugh tickling out over her skin._ _

__"He's a mess." Natasha sighed, falling back against him._ _

__"Oh, I wasn't laughing about the waffles."_ _

__"Oh?"_ _

__"He's wearing my shirt."_ _

__Natasha pushed up on her elbow to look back at him. "No way."_ _

__"Yep."_ _

__"Okay, that's the funniest thing I think I've ever seen." she said, stifling her own laughter as she collapsed back to the mattress and into the circle of Steve's arms. "We should totally not tell him and see how long it takes for him to figure it out."_ _

__"Agreed."_ _

__"Ten bucks says he actually makes it out of the apartment."_ _

__"You're on, Romanoff." He shot back. "I'm willing to lose that bet."_ _

__Their laughter petered out and they grew quiet for a minute. The sunlight streaming in the blinds had stretched across the carpet to paint their legs as they lay tangled on the bed. Natasha turned back staring up at him with those sweet, easy eyes._ _

__"Thank you." She whispered, stealing a kiss. "I think that was good for him."_ _

__"Good for just him?" Steve arched an eyebrow and bumped her cheek with his nose._ _

__"Well, and me too." she admitted. "But I'm trying not to be selfish."_ _

__"Make it three then." Steve said. "Call me a creep, but honestly… I've always wanted a piece of that."_ _

__"Really?" It was more bemused statement than question._ _

__"Yep." Steve said, a bit of pink staining his cheeks._ _

__"Boy, you kept that under lock and key." She said, clearly impressed. "You really are a dirty old man."_ _

__"Guilty as charged." He said, before patting her hip. "Come on. I suddenly feel like Clint wasn't kidding when he said he would eat all the waffles."_ _

__"No… no, he was not."_ _

__And with a kiss and a tug, Natasha was out of bed and getting dressed (purposefully in one of Steve's shirts he had left some other night previous), before they both followed the smell of coffee and maple syrup out into the wide world._ _

__***_ _

____Let us, then, be up and doing,__  
_With a heart for any fate;_  
_Still achieving, still pursuing,_  
_Learn to labor and to wait._

__***_ _

**Author's Note:**

> Come flail with me about Marvel, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Hannibal, and whatever else happens to have my attention over on Tumblr at @littlethingwithfeathers.
> 
> And stay tuned... my Endgame fix-it is coming next month!


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